What are you again?

There is no superior race

Learned your lesson yet?

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

A story of Ahu and Ahuahu and their family in a Maori village in Aotearoa during European settlement of New
Zealand. (Click on Ahu in
the labels bar for previous posts)

Aotea and Hoku spent most of their time now
at Gannet Island in the rebuilt village there.
Their whare had a view of Gannet
Island through the trees
just a short walk from the beach. Hoku loved it there. She had heard all of
Ahu’s childhood stories of growing up with the golden sand to walk along and
being able to fish from the beach. She respected the great mound of the island
with the sea birds constantly circling it. It seemed to her those birds were
constantly telling Ahu’s story of going there as a child, losing her parents
and despite such a set back had become the most respected wife of the Head man
at Black Springs.

Hoku felt that this too was now a really
special place for her and Aotea to live with all their family traditions, even
the ones about her village of Rocky Outcrop and that of Gannet Island
fighting each other. Ahuahu had told her that Rocky Outcrop and Black Sands
established a pact to ensure peace between them despite the pakeha trading guns
with their neighbours. She knew now that Ahuahu had gained the confidence of
her father to stop the fighting between their villages as the pakeha were the
threat now not their own people.

Most of all she loved Aotea. She always had
to push him reluctantly from her side in the mornings as he was so loathe to
leave. They would often hear other villagers moving about outside before they
could bear to let go of each other. So it was no surprise that she said to him
one evening when he came home “Aotea, I am with child.” He said not a word but
took her to their sleeping mat and laid her down and took her clothes off and
nuzzled her tummy. As she wrapped her arms around him he said “Who should we
tell first. Perhaps it should be your father. Let us hope he will live to see
the baby.”

“Why, do you think he is not well?”

“He told me once that he wants to come to
live here with us as he is very tired. I think he is worn out from defending
the land at Rocky Outcrop from the pakeha. He loves all his family but you are
the most precious thing in the world to him.”

Ruaimoko her father was indeed an old man.
Hoku thought that he was well over fifty years old. He had a number of sons
that had produced large families for him and she alone of her sisters remained
in the area. Her father even found it difficult to walk far now.

Ruaimoko took the unusual step in
relinquishing his position as head man at Rocky Outcrop and told their village
council to choose a successor. Only one of his wives remained alive. Although
she was not Hoku’s mother she too wanted to live at Gannet Island
as she was frightened of the pakeha settling so close to them.

There were well over fifty villagers from the
Rocky Outcrop and Black Sands community living now in the village opposite Gannet Island.
The remaining families left from the little settlement at Fern Gully joined
them too for safety. They hoped that by banding together they would discourage
the pakeha from taking any more land from them.

Already there were white farmers who had
camped close to Rocky Outcrop who had started building homes and clearing the
land. There were miners there too looking for metal in the ground and
especially the highly prized metal gold in the streams.There were travelling traders that came on
their pack horses or wheeled wagons selling goods to the white settlers. Some
time ago Ruaimoko and Ahuahu wisely decided it would be better to re-establish
the village at Gannet Island closer to Black Sands so they were adjoining
communities and less likely to have their land stolen from them.

So eventually Ruaimoko came down to Gannet Island
with his second wife Mahuika. She came from Ahuriri a coastal settlement many
days walk south. Aotea had a whare built for them close to theirs so that they
too could see the view of Gannet
Island. They were
accompanied on their journey down by two men from Rocky Outcrop as Ruaimoko had
such difficulty in walking. It took them two days and he was clearly distressed
when he arrived.

Hoku even though she was several months
pregnant tended him while he recovered with the help of Mahuika. Gradually his
energy returned and after that the older couple were often seen walking slowly
around the village and even sitting on the beach facing Gannet Island.

In the evenings Mahuika would tell them old
stories of the past. Aotea had not heard a storyteller such as this before.
Most of the stories he had heard were of the gods that controlled their lives
or what his family or ancestors had done but Mahuika would tell the legends of
her childhood.

The first story Mahuika’s told was from Ahuriri
where she was born. Ruaimoko was lying on his mat with one hand holding her
onto Mahuika. Aotea was leaning against a wall post and Hoku was nestled into
him and holding his hand on her swelling tummy as Mahuika began her story:

“Pania of the Reef was a
beautiful maiden who lived in the sea on the east coast of our land. By daytime
she swam about with other creatures in her reef world but after sunset would
swim up a freshwater stream that ran into the bay where my family have always
lived. She would travel up the stream to an area where she could sit among the
flax bushes. She was an adventurous creature that dared to discover the world
outside the sea. Karitoki who lived nearby, was the handsome son of a former
chief and quenched his thirst every evening with the sweet water from the
stream where Pania rested amongst the flax. For many weeks he was unaware that
she was watching him until one night she whispered a faint spell. It carried on
the wind to Karitoki who then turned around to see Pania emerge naked from her
hiding place.”“Karitoki had never seen someone
so beautiful and instantly fell in love. Pania fell in love with him too and
they pledged their lives to each other and were secretly married. Pania and
Karitoki went to his whare but because it was dark no-one saw them enter. At
sunrise, Pania prepared to leave but Karitoki tried to stop her. She explained
that she was a creature of the ocean and the sirens of the sea called her to
return each morning. She told him she could not survive if she did not go to
them. She promised to return every evening and for weeks their marriage
continued on that basis.”“Karitoki boasted to his friends
about his beautiful wife, but no one believed him because they had never seen
her. Frustrated by this, Karitoki consulted a kaumatua or wise man in the
village and told him about Pania. The wise man believed Karitoki as he knew
that ocean maidens did exist. The kaumatua told Karitoki that being a sea
creature, Pania would not be allowed to return to the sea if she swallowed the
cooked food that the Maori themselves ate.” “That night as Pania slept after
making love, Karitoki took a morsel of cooked food and put it in Pania's mouth.
As he did so a Ruru owl that was sitting in the branches of a tree outside
Karitoki’s whare called a loud warning and itwoke Pania from her sleep. She found that some cooked food had been
placed in her mouth and spat it out. She was horrified that Karitoki had played a trick on her and put
her life in jeopardy. So Pania jumped up and fled from the whare, jumped into the stream and
swam back down to the sea. Her own people sensed she was in danger and came to
the surface and drew her down into the depths before Karitoki could catch her
as he swam frantically about the ocean searching for her in the dark. Karitoki
never saw her again.”“When people now look deep into
the water over the reef, some say they can see Pania with arms outstretched,
appealing to her former lover. No one knows whether she is imploring him to
explain his treachery, or calling for him to join her as she still loved him.
Pania bore a child for Karitoki and named him Moremore but he wisely stayed in
the ocean.” “I was born by the sea where
Pania lived”, Mahuika said, “It is now protected by Moremore, the son of Pania
and Karitoki. He is the kaitiaki or guardian of the area, a taniwha who often
disguises himself as a predatory fish such as a shark or stingray or even a
large octopus to ensure that no other sea maidens are tempted to visit the
land.”

When Mahuika had finished the
story; only she and Aotea were still awake. In the light of fire she smiled and
said to him, “They have both heard the story before, so they knew the end.”With that Aotea lifted Hoku up
and took her back to their whare and whispered to her as he laid her down on
her mat“You will not go back to ocean
will you?”Hoku sleepily shook her head.

We range far and wide

Even shifting sands see us

Friday, May 24, 2013

A story of Ahu and Ahuahu and their family in a Maori village in Aotearoa during European settlement of New
Zealand. (Click on Ahu in
the labels bar for previous posts)

Houhia tried not to think of Tiemi all the
time now that he was no longer in the village.She managed this during the day but when she went to sleep at night her
dreams were often of the times when they explored the forest together finding
the plants for him to list and take samples of. She remembered her time searching
for the different trees and pointing out the insects and other creatures with
him. When they were alone or if Hinewai was not near he would also ask about
the other wildlife there too.

Once he heard a bird call he asked, “Is that
a Kaka?”

Houhia laughed, shook her head and said, “No,
that is a kokako. The kaka is a parrot lives in the forest where the tall trees
are cut and where Moana’s mother lives.” She pointed in the direction that she
was referring to even though Tiemi was not sure which way they were facing as he couldn’t see the sun. She then looked about her then spied one the birds that
he had seen on a branch. “See there it is. It is smaller than a Kaka and look it has
wattles on its cheeks. See how it is looking for the flowers to eat. It loves
fruit too but it will also eat insects.”

Tiemi all the time was looking at Houhia,
when she noticed this she lowered her eyes and looked away but continued
talking. “When they find fruit they will try it but if not satisfied they will
try another one until it is ripe enough to eat.”

“The English world is luscious Houhia,” Tiemi
said, “You are luscious, your eyes sparkle, and you are bursting with energy
and you are a strong and beautiful young woman.”

Houhia lowered her eyes, so she didn’t show
that she liked to hear him say those words. She turned around and looked for
Hinewai and called out for her. Not far away Hinewai called back. “I am coming”

When Houhia looked back at Tiemi, he was
still smiling at her. “Please don’t talk to me this way,” she said.

“Don’t you want to be admired, Houhia?”

“You are only playing with me, Tiemi.”
Although she said this she saw the fire in his eyes and that he was desperate
to touch her. She was wondering what that would be like when Hinewai returned.

Houhia then said, “Hinewai, Tiemi said that
he thought he saw a Kaka but I told him they could only be seen in the forest
where Torangi your husband works as wood cutter. Perhaps you could take him
there.”

Immediately Tiemi saw that he had been
outplayed and interjected. “No it is not so important.”

Houhia remembered this and wished now she had
not called Hinewai but instead let Tiemi talk more to her, perhaps touch her
and say what he thought of her and how luscious she was. With that she fell
asleep.

So my timing was not right

Thursday, May 16, 2013

A story of Ahu and Ahuahu and their family in a Maori village in Aotearoa during European settlement of New
Zealand. (Click on Ahu in
the labels bar for previous posts)

Houhia had become very close to Hinewai who
was like an aunt to her as she was Hatiti’s sister. Houhia still thought of
Tiemi the botanist even though she had rebuked him and shown her strength and
determination to preserve their land from the pakeha takeover. She still kept
the little card he had given her with his name on. She often held it in her
hand and placed it on her breast at night when she thought of him. She
remembered his eyes when they looked at each other and thought they told her
that he desired her and that made her feel very good inside. Then she would
hide the card away again.

When Ahu her mother suggested to her that she
should be thinking of being married, she could only think of him and would
reply “I am not ready yet.” She knew she was lying and even Ahu looked doubtful
as all girls Houhia’s age would be hoping that would be asked to marry even
though they could refuse.

So she went round to Hinewai’s whare and
asked if she could talk with her. Hinewai was very pleased that she asked. Even
though she did not have children of her own she was happy to be involved with
Hatiti’s and Ahu’s children and be part of the families now that she lived at
Black Sands.

They sat together on the porch and chatted
about everything except what Houhia wanted to talk about. Finally Houhia asked
Hinewai “How far is it to Auckland?”

A broad grin spread over Hinewai’s face, she
tried to suppress it but in the end she laughed and said “Houhia, are you still
thinking of Tiemi?”

Houhia nodded. “I cannot forget the way he
looked at me, Hinewai.”

Hinewai reached forward and hugged Houhia. “I
expect he looks that way at all girls as he is not married. He will marry an
ugly pakeha woman and then think of you when he makes love to her. Please to
not hope for more.”

“What is it like living in a pakeha town
Hinewai?”

“Dirty. They do not wash as often as we do.
They defecate in the same place in a container in a shed behind their houses,
they do not oil they bodies; they lie to each other or have different meaning
to their words.” Hinewai paused here and then said “When they speak you do not
know if they tell the truth or if they laugh at you.”

“Surely not all of them, Hatiti?”

“Why are you asking this? Do you really want
to walk to Auckland
to find him only to discover he has a wife and three children?” Here she paused
then said “We would have to make some new flax shoes to wear if we went or else
our feet would be torn to shreds on the stones on the roadway.” Hinewai paused
again as she thought out the problem. “We would be in danger not only from the
pakeha but from our own people as we travel though their lands. As everyone is so
edgy these days“.

“But you managed before, Hinewai, travelling
by yourself.”

“I had something to trade then, you do not.”
Again Hinewai was silent as she thought it through. Then she came out with “No,
it is wrong, Houhia. Ahu and Ahuahu would never forgive me if I took you
there.”

Houhia looked crestfallen, so Hinewai took
her hand and said “How do you think that Tiemi feels about you?”

“When he looked at me I could see the stars
shine in his eyes, and he always smiled when he talked to me as though he was
happy even though we were arguing with him. Why did he do that Hinewai?”

“It did that because he admired the way you
were strong and assertive, he probably hadn’t seen that before in a woman.”

“What should I do then?” whispered Houhia.

“Nothing, if he wants you he will return. I
think he left that card to tell you he cares for you. He will think more of you
and want you more if you do not make the first move. I feel sure now that he
will return for you. However the big problem then will be persuading Ahuahu to
permit you to be together.”

Houhia thought about this a little then said
“Did you ever want someone you shouldn’t have?”

Hinewai nodded, “All the time. Don’t tell anyone else but I flirted with
your father when he first came to Black Sands as I wanted to be loved so much.”

“What happened?”

“My father Kamaka beat me, I deserved it but but he forgave me eventually."

The leer of the victorious

The mourning for loved ones

The loss of humanity

The sun at it’s setting

Saturday, May 11, 2013

I hadn’t begun school when WW2 started but when I did I was a war veteran. OK I didn’t
wear a uniform unless you count the Gas Mask in its box that I was required to
carry over my shoulder as I caught the bus to school each morning. If the air
raid siren sounded its urgent but mournful call during class we were very
disciplined. We kept quiet and followed our commander (or teacher) in an
orderly fashion outside across the playground and into the air raid shelters
that were a few yards from the school buildings. There with hardly a chatter we
would sit on the timber benches and quietly did what we were told to like
good little soldiers. I don’t remembered being frightened but when we all
packed in we were allowed to talk while the teachers would stay near the
baffled entrances to listen for the all clear siren that signaled that the danger from
the aircraft flying overhead was passed. However the school was never bombed which
some boys thought was rather sad.

At home
such a warning would be less of a concern. Our house was in a street close by
to farmland and we didn’t have a shelter to hide in. If the siren sounded at night we
would stay downstairs and sleep there. For small boys this was an adventure that
I can hardly remember as I still needed my sleep. I just let my parents worry
themselves sick should any bombs fall close by. Some more concerned people had
shelters in their back garden where they could escape from the house collapsing
around them. My grandfather had put a corrugated iron Anderson shelter in his garden half sunk into the
ground and to me it smelled of mould and damp. We were going to get a Morrison
shelter for indoors which with a table top over it could be more useful when the bombs
weren’tdropping but for some reason
that never eventuated so we just slept under our normal dining table or huddled
in the space under the stairs. I guess we were just lucky as most of the
streets near us escaped any damage. At the end of our garden was a field and
copse of trees and at the end of our road was a very large field indeed so no
bombers wasted their bombs on us.

War is a
terrifying time for parents but a very exciting time for children. This is
because the main streets were filled with army vehicles, trucks, Bren gun carriers
and most exciting of all tanks that roared menacingly like huge beasts looking
for prey which of course they were, or would be once they had crossed the
channel and started chasing the enemy.

Man had not
yet been flying for forty years but now the skies were full of planes taking
off and landing at a myriad of newly constructed airfields to house them and
their crews. Boys like us were in their element spotting the planes with sharp
eyes and identifying them by wing shape, sound and number of engines. As I was
the younger brother my elder sibling had grabbed ownership by choosing the
Supermarine Spitfire as his favorite so I was left to attach myself to the
Hawker Hurricane which I liked best in any case.

Once or
twice at school assembly an announcement would be made that one of our
classmates had been killed in an air-raid we were sad for one day but continued fighting the war our way the next. We boasted of what our fathers and uncles were
doing and what service they were in or what countries they had visited as war
was with us day and night.

On one of the last
days of the summer 1940 our family spent the afternoon on the Hampshire downs and in
that glorious setting we all watched a dogfight overhead. There high in the sky
above us almost out of sight except for young boys’ eyes a battle was being
fought by tiny planes droning and firing and circling and falling on that dying
day of summer. It was the culmination of the Battle of Britain, a deciding
point in the war. The action that day was proof to the British people that we
could win the war despite the odds.

Later as
the war wore on we were playing cricket in the field adjacent one day and heard the
drone of a doodlebug or V1 guided rocket launched from enemy occupied
territory. We paused in our game and listened carefully and waited as it flew
overhead. The droning of the engine did not stop so we were safe, so like
seasoned heroes we continued with our game of cricket as the rocket would fall
to ground when the engine stopped.It
was all part of the action.

And eyes that sparkle at
me?

So that is my deal

My ultimatum

You restore what I have
lost

A story of Ahu and Ahuahu and their family in a Maori village in Aotearoa
before European settlement of New
Zealand. (Click on Ahu in
the labels bar for previous posts)

Ahuahu the head man at Black Springs liked
Hunapo, Moana’s new husband. He could see so much of himself in the young man
who was a fisherman like himself that took on Moana in her need after Moana’s
husband Paikea had been killed. He could remember many years ago before he
himself had married Ahu that the mischievous Moana was just the sort of child
he wanted if ever he was married. She was observant and very funny and so
independent and self reliant but a terrible tease. Now she had grown out of her
bad habits and was a very useful member of the Black Sands community. In fact
she was a lot like both he and Ahu had been as they grew up without parents.

Now she had settled down with Hunapo who was
kind and generous and had shown his strength by walking up to speak to Moana’s
husband Paikea’s family after his death to say that he would look after her.
They had agreed as they could see that by agreeing to this, as Paikea’s brother
Tui wanted to marry Hekehoru who was Ahuahu’s daughter.

Moana and Hunapo were a good match and
utterly devoted to each other. Hunapo was happy to be a father to Moana’s two
children by Paikea and soon another baby was on the way, his. It was a boy and
Moana wanted to call him after Ahuahu because he was one person that she loved
and trusted above all others as she had known him all her life. Hunapo was not
so sure he wanted a more popular name. He was worried that people in the village would talk especially as
Moana and Ahuahu were not related.Hunapo thought a lot about the name and after walking through the
village in the dark one evening by himself he came back to his whare and said
to Moana “We will call the child Huahua”.

Moana looked doubtfully at him trying to work
out what the name meant. She could see Hunapo name in there and Ahu’s and there
were certainly the sounds of Ahuahu’s name in there too. Her eyes
suddenly opened wide “Isn’t that was they call birds that are stuffed to cook
and eat?”

Hunapo looked surprised “Is it? I remember it
was the name of an old chief way up in the lands to the north. We can’t have
Apoapo can we? That means roll together doesn’t it?”

At this Moana laughed and pulled him down on
top of her. “No, that is a not a good name but I think I will talk to my mother and
see what she says. She will be down to see him soon from the village where
the kakas call”.

Hunapo nodded glumly. “Soon there will be no
kakas there. Already the pakeha white men have started cutting the trees for
themselves and there are great cleared areas in the forests. Hauku should come
and live here instead.”

Moana nodded sadly, “Yes you are right. Her
husband Torangi is an old man and cannot work in the forest anymore. He must
grieve to see the forest destroyed. I will talk to Ahuahu”.

Hunapo shook his head. “Just be the mother
you are. I will talk to Ahuahu”. With that he clasped her to him again and
breathed in the milkiness of her body. She looked into his eyes and shook her
head, “Another few days Hunapo, then it will be the full moon. We will have so
many babies.”

The next day Hunapo spoke to Ahuahu and they
agreed that Hunapo should visit Torangi and Hauku and ask them to live in Black
Sands. Hunapo then asked Ahuahu about Moana’s wish to have the new baby named
after him.

Ahuahu looked doubtful and shook his head at
first then smiled “My name means something different where I was born, it means
healthy and strong; whereas Ahu’s name means to look after or care for or even
to build or heap up. There is nothing wrong in calling your new baby Ahuahu. Ahu
and I did look after Moana when she fled from Gannet Island we all made sure
she would be a good member of our village. When you see Moana’s mother, talk to
her too. Do not be concerned Hunapo. It is not the name but the person inside
that counts. Your new child will be loved by everyone.

With that Hunapo relaxed a little. However
when he went up the village where the kakas call he was met with the news that
Torangi had died the day previously after a long illness. He had not worked in
the forest for some time although Hauku’s boys did so now under the pakeha
timber cutters.

He told Hauku about Moana’s new baby and that
if she wanted she could live in his village by the sea now to help with Moana’s
children.

Hauku looked at Hunapo’s eyes and touched him
gently on his arm. “What you have asked is a great comfort to me Hunapo. I
remember this forest as a young girl and now with all the changes it is time
for me to move on again. My sons will continue to work here and earn money from
the pakeha. They do so even though I see my homeland being destroyed before my
eyes. But it is different for them. I will bring my youngest child Hakeke with
me after I have buried Torangi here tomorrow.”

Hauku cried a little more and Hunapo waited
respectfully allowing her grief to pour out. As he waited there Hakeke came
forward with a bowl of water for him to drink. Hunapo was astounded when he saw
her for there in front of him was a smaller version of Moana nodding politely
at him. He smiled at her and said “Moana your older sister has just given birth
to a baby boy. I hope you can come down and see them soon.”

Hakeke smiled sadly, nodded and took the bowl
away after he had finished.

“Hauku, the reason I came today is that we
wish to call her new baby Ahuahu and we thought it best you should be aware of
this before we tell everyone.”

Hauku looked up and said through her tears
“For many years Ahuahu has been like a father to her. It is fitting that you
have decided this. Certainly he has been a greater help to her that her father
my first husband ever was”.

A few days later afterwards Hauku and Hakeke
came down to Black Sands to visit and a big gathering of relatives and friends
met to welcome the new little Ahuahu into the village. Despite Hunapo’s concern
everyone thought that it was the best name for his and Moana’s child. Even
though they weren’t related they were still part of Ahuahu’s family.

It beats thunderous
applause

But wait, slow down please

Are we in the soup

You’re a dish but I must
dash

Your man’s at the door

When you are a
youngster you dream of growing up, having a bike, running away from home or eating
ice cream or cake until you are sick. Most of us will remember collecting the
last free card in a set or a plastic toy you really wanted in the cereal packet.
In my day we collected cigarette cards.

However as time
goes on your dreaming alters to more worldly needs. Such as getting the girl in
pigtails sitting in front of you in class to turn round and smile at you or
scream because you pulled her hair. Unfortunately this sort of dream often
comes at inappropriate moments and the first thing you know is the teacher
glaring at you if you are looking at the girl in pigtails.

When I was a
child I was a bit of a wimp as I had a bully for a brother. I don’t know what
he had been told about my impending arrival but as I was a clingy, hungry,
smelly baby that took all of his mother’s attention, I was clearly not welcome.
I wasn’t supposed to be a brother, the name chosen some time before my birth was
Judith so clearly I was a disappointment all around. Luckily I was born in the
morning at home and there was a bird singing outside in the garden, a Robin, so
an alternative name sprung my mother’s mind. I am quite pleased about this as
they could have been particularly cruel and called me Judith regardless.

So I grew up as a
brother, and soon had few boy cousins and sundry other male relatives too but
only one girl cousin She was the oldest relative of my generation and
completely opposite to me in every way. She was clean, polite, clever, musical,
and was an only child. So my dream then was to be a girl. So I liked dolls but
didn’t have one of my own. I did have a stuffed toy monkey named Beppo who was my constant loving companion as
opposed to my brother who was an inconstant hateful one. I didn’t hate him it
is just that as I followed him around he saw me as the enemy that would take
all his food, toys, love and attention, which had been his right until I came
on the scene, so eventually I tried to keep out his way. His recourse at the
meal table was to eat very quickly and then steal the food from my plate when
no-one else was looking. This is why I am so thin.

As I wanted a
dolly, and I moaned a lot at what I saw was deprivation the message finally sunk
in. As there was a little girl that lived at the top of the street my mother
was game enough to talk to her mother to ask if she could make my dreams come
true and I give me one of the little girl’s cast off dollies that she didn’t
need. My guess is that she probably did have a few but when she heard that this
dirty, thin, ugly little boy from down the road wanted a dolly suddenly all of her
dollies were very precious to her. So I never received one.

So I had to grow
up as a boy with just a toy monkey and a few dinky toy cars to play with. The
monkey I may add was my constant loving companion for many years and of
necessity had a number of replacement faces sewn on when the other ones had
worn away with love. Eventually I stopped dreaming of dollies and settled for
dreaming about the next best thing…girls.

The problem with
girls is that they don’t dream about you. I discovered the opposite sex in
class at school. Then as a boy in the between age of being a lovely little chap
and an obnoxious teenager I found myself as a new pupil in a new school. At the
music lesson everyone had to stand up at the back of a large room all huddled
together. As luck would have it a girl of my own age and size stood by my side
as I was at the end of the row of boys and she was at the end of the row of
girls and the two had to meet somewhere and that was us. So we sang along
together. I would say we sang in unison but that would not have been the case
with me as I had a voice like a cross cut saw as one music master later said of
me. However she did reach out and hold my hand which had never happened to me
before. It was something like having ice cream for the first time. I am glad
she didn’t look to see how dirty it was.

In those days
children were quite independent of parents. We walked to school by ourselves
and walked back home afterwards either alone or with friends. That is not true.
Girls walked or skipped, boys ran or dawdled, pushed each other in the bushes
or tripped each other up. This is just a male thing. So that afternoon when the
last bell rang the little girl waited in the playground for me to walk her home.
It wasn’t far, so we walked down road turned right into her road and took her
to the door where her mother met us and ushered us inside. She gave us a drink
and when I had finished that I was ushered to the door and that is the last I time
I ever spoke to the little girl. She may have noticed how dirty my hands were.

Another reason may
be that I was an unaccomplished liar. When I first attended this school as a
new boy I had no standing, no history so I told them that we had just come from
Africa where I grew up with the natives. Now
you will say this was untrue. Not entirely, for years I had lived in a dream
world of looking after a pet monkey and through ill luck had a spear thrown at
me by my best friend that went in my calf. So I had an entirely different
history in my mind which others saw this as me being a lying little oaf.

My life has been
littered with such experiences. Not all of them involving little dark haired girls
that wanted to hold my hand; probably like the Good Samaritan that would help
even the lowest of the low. And the girl? Sadly I don’t even remember her name as
my mind is a little fuzzy these days.

Is such a tribute to you

About Me

Retired and glad to be so. Family is the most important thing to have and enjoy.
Now please remember, most of what I tell you is fiction. Much of it is based on personal experiences, recollections and just plain fabrication!
Often in tales about myself I may appear to be the hero, well I am not going to be the villain am I?

Some of my favorite blogs

What else am I doing?

Latest Movies seen

My Cousin Rachel - Despite reading some not too flattering reviews of this film and seeing previous interpretations I thought the story as presented was engaging and characters believable in this new remake of the classical story. Starring Rachel Weisz and Sam Caflin. 8/10